


When Arthur Returned

by Alittlefandominmylife



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Back from the lake, Introducing Arthur to appliances, M/M, Reincarnation AU, and wtf is that thing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 20:29:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3354254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alittlefandominmylife/pseuds/Alittlefandominmylife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arthur pulls himself up out of the water near Merlin's house, Merlin couldn't be more delighted to have him home, but Arthur has lots of questions- particularly about the strange things he sees in Merlin's house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Arthur Returned

**Author's Note:**

> Hi loves! I hope you're having a great Valentine's Day. Here's a bit of fluff to make you smile :)

* * *

When Arthur returned Merlin couldn’t help but be excited. His best friend was home again and he could keep him safe in the new world just like before, but Merlin didn’t think about how many things had changed. After the hugs were over and they had gotten Arthur inside, there had been a barrage of things that were new and had to be explored.

 

First, the shower- because Merlin couldn’t get his king back just to let him catch pneumonia and die or something. So Merlin turned on the shower, getting the water nice and warm as Arthur stared on with wide eyes.

“Is this magic?” He asked, quite certain that Merlin had crafted this with his very own special powers.

“Um. No. It’s a shower. You use it to bathe in.” Merlin said and pulled back the curtain. Arthur wasn’t certain about it and he shook his head.

“No, I think I’d prefer a bath.” He said and Merlin shrugged.

 

“We don’t have a tub. You’re going to have to stand in the shower.” Merlin said and Arthur sighed, rather put out. And then he demanded Merlin to help him wash his back, which meant Merlin had to strip down and climb in the shower as well, focusing on his job and not the delicious arse in front of him.

 

The shower was quick, but enough to get Arthur nice and warm again. They toweled off and Merlin led Arthur to the bedroom, handing him pants and a flannel sleep set- neither of which Arthur was terribly keen on wearing. The trousers were too tight and the shirt had too many buttons. Who had even invented buttons anyway? Why did he even have to wear a shirt to bed? Didn’t Merlin have a proper tailor? All of these questions were forgotten when Merlin agreed to let Arthur wear only the trousers while they were in the house.

 

Shortly after dressing Arthur claimed that he was hungry. Merlin understood this as he imagined there weren’t many people who wouldn’t have a ravenous appetite after a 1500 year long nap. They went into the kitchen and Arthur was amused at how small it was, but sat at the counter as Merlin instructed. Merlin rummaged through the fridge while Arthur rattled off questions.

_“What’s that?”_

_“It’s the refrigerator. It keeps food cold.”_

_“Why do you want all your food to be cold?”_

_“Because it keeps germs away and makes it last longer.”_

_“What’s a germ?”_

_“It’s something that makes you sick. They’re microscopic- er. You can’t see them, but they’re everywhere and you have to get vaccinations and things against some of them and… Oh shite. We’ll have to get all your shots.”_

_“Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. I’m glad we didn’t have those in Camelot.”_

Arthur then got up and proceeded to look at things in the kitchen. He was fascinated by the toaster-

_“What does it do?”_

_“It toasts bread.”_

_“Toasts?”_

_“It sort of burns it but only a little.” Merlin answered and Arthur snorted, making snide comments about people wanting to burn bread on purpose_.

 

And by the blender-

_“How does it work?”_

_“No! Don’t press the buttons- and don’t put your fingers in there!”_  

 

But he wasn’t impressed by the sink.

_“Yes, yes, so water comes in like the shower. I know how magic works, Merlin.”_

 

But eventually Merlin got Arthur to sit back down again and set a plate in front of him. He explained that he’d have to settle for leftovers until Merlin could run to the shops, but that spaghetti was good and would keep him warm. Arthur was less than impressed and struggled to stab the noodles. Spinning them up on the fork was better, but Arthur still got sauce all over his mouth and he decided he didn’t like it after three bites.

Merlin sighed and handed him a piece of fruit, which Arthur took one bite out of and handed it back to Merlin, telling him that apples weren’t supposed to be like that. Next they tried for an omelet, but Arthur didn’t like how he couldn’t taste the egg. Eventually Merlin handed Arthur a block of cheese and a hunk of bread, which Arthur was immensely pleased with, glad that they hadn’t “mucked up the cheese at least.”

 

When dinner was done Arthur inquired about the dishwasher and jumped a little when it started making such an atrocious sound, and asked Merlin if he wanted it to eat the dishes. Merlin laughed and shook his head, pulling Arthur away and into the living room. He tried to explain again that it had been a very long time since Arthur had been in the world and that things were very different now than they had been in Camelot but Arthur rolled his eyes and pointed up.

“What’s that?” He asked and Merlin looked up.

“What’s what?” He asked, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

“That thing on your ceiling.”

“Arthur, I don’t see anything.”

“Yes you do! That thing! It’s bright as the sun!” Arthur said and Merlin sighed. This was going to be a much longer adjustment period than he’d first anticipated. Even so, the centuries of waiting had made Merlin a patient man, and he told Arthur what the object was, but didn’t tell him how it worked. Merlin suspected that it would be a very long time before Arthur understood electricity. And before he stopped casually attributing anything he didn’t understand to magic.

 

Thank the gods for Arthur being worn out from his return because Merlin wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. Arthur stole the bed of course, but Merlin argued that since the bed was bigger than one from Camelot he could manage to fit in too. Arthur obliged eventually and soon he asleep, loving how soft the bed was and how nice the sheets felt against his skin. Then he was snuggled up to Merlin, because even Kings got cold and what was a manservant for if not snuggling and keeping warm? All in all, Merlin knew that Arthur would have a thousand more questions and there would be days when he was happy to let Arthur believe that everything was magic- because how does one explain magnetism to an ancient king or the fact that he could use a phone to talk to someone who wasn’t there?- but for now Merlin was pleased just to have Arthur home again.


End file.
